Prostate-specific molecular imaging, such as PET and CT, can detect more cancer and improve patient care, according to a study presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2017 Annual Meeting.

Ga68-Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) /positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is increasingly used to evaluate patients with prostate cancer, and this research addressed its impact on clinical care in patients with prostate cancer.

In a prospective multicenter study in 4 Australian centers, 431 patients underwent pre- and post-Ga68 PSMA management plans with their primary specialist, between January 2015 and January 2016.

Referring medical specialists completed a survey on management intent before patients underwent Ga68 PSMA PET/CT scans followed by another survey after results of the scans were available.

Scans were performed for primary staging in 25% of patients and for increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after surgery and/or radiotherapy in 75% of patients.

Results from the survey indicated that the scan changed planned management in approximately half (51%) of patients. More significant changes in management occurred in patients with biochemical recurrence (64% after surgery, 69% after radiotherapy) than in patients with primary staging (23%).

Early analyses suggested the PSMA can detect disease not previously detected in the prostate bed (30% of patients), in the locoregional lymph nodes (36% of patients), and distantly located (16% of patients).

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